The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned Aminat Musa, Chief Executive Officer, Rabahaska International Company Limited, and Adekoyejo Gbadebo, Director, El-Gafok Investment Nigeria Limited for defrauding 15 home-seekers in a N34 million property scam.
Musa and Gbadebo were brought before Justice M.A. Nasir of a Federal Capital Territory, FCT High Court, Jabi, on February 19, 2019 and are facing a 17-count charge bordering on advance fee fraud and forgery.
They are alleged to have at various times in 2017 collected various sums of money from their victims, amounting to N34,175,350 in the guise that they were building an estate to be known as Munauwara Estate/Rabahaska International Co, and had allocated houses to them.
They also allegedly forged certain documents captioned, Ministry for Federal Capital Territory, El-Gafok Investment Nigeria Limited, Plot No ED2045, Sabon Lugbe East Extension Layout dated 20/5/2002.
One of the counts reads in part: “That you, Aminat Musa (CEO, Rabahaska international Company Limited and Prince Adekoyejo Gbadebo (Director, El-Gafok), sometime in 2017, in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud obtained the aggregate sum of N8,500,000 only from Abubakar Sadiq Barka under the false pretence that you were capable of building an estate to be known as Munauwara Estate/Rabahaska Intl Co wherefrom building was allocated to him, which you knew to be false”.
Another count reads: “That you, Aminat Ibrahim Musa (CEO, Rabahaska International Company Limited) and Prince Adekoyejo Gbadebo (Director, El-Gafok) sometimes in 2017 in Abuja within the Jurisdiction of this honourable court, with intend to defraud obtained the aggregate sum of N2,365,600 only from Musa Giwa Yusuf under the pretence that you were capable of building an estate to be known as Munauwara estate/ Rabahaska international company wherefrom building was allocated to him which you knew to be false”.
They pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
Counsel for the first and second defendants, Maman Mayaki and Ify Ofou, thereafter, moved the bail application for their clients, which was dated February 11, 2019.
Responding, counsel for the EFCC, Ayo Fadahunsi, opposed the bail application for Aminat, and urged the Court to “resolve all the issues raised in the prosecution’s counter-affidavit”. “My lord, the first defendant jumped the administrative bail earlier granted to her by the Commission,” he said, further urging the court to “dismiss the application for bail and grant accelerated hearing of the case”.
Fadahunsi, however, did not oppose the bail application for Gbadebo.
After listening to all the arguments, Justice Nasir granted them bail in the sum of N10 million with two sureties in like sum, one of whom must be a civil servant of not less than Grade Level 10, while the other must be a resident of Abuja.
They are to be remanded in prison, pending the perfection of their bail conditions.
The case has been adjourned to April 1, 2019 for “commencement of trial”.